System for laminating optical film and method for manufacturing display unit using the same

ABSTRACT

A system for laminating an optical film according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes a panel transfer unit to transfer a panel, a first laminating unit installed on a transfer line of the panel to laminate an optical film on a first surface of the panel along a first direction parallel to a transfer direction of the panel, and a second laminating unit installed on the transfer line of the panel to laminate an optical film full-cut into a predetermined length on a second surface of the panel along a direction perpendicular to the first direction.

This application is a Continuation Bypass of International ApplicationNo. PCT/KR2014/003606, filed Apr. 24, 2014, and claims the benefit ofKorean Application No. 10-2014-0002582, filed on Jan. 8, 2014, andKorean Application No. 10-2014-0027932, filed Mar. 10, 2014, all ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for allpurposes as if fully set forth herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a system for laminating an opticalfilm and a method for manufacturing a display unit using the same, andmore particularly, to a system for attaching an optical film that mayincrease procedural efficiency and efficiency in aspect of spatialutilization in a process of attaching an optical film onto both surfacesof a panel constituting a display device, and a method for manufacturinga display unit using the same.

BACKGROUND ART

For use in a display device, a display unit implemented by attaching anoptical film such as a polarizing film onto both surfaces of a panel ismanufactured by a manufacturing system, and FIG. 1 illustratesconceptually a part of a system for manufacturing a display unitaccording to a related art, and FIG. 2 illustrates a process ofmanufacturing a display unit using a manufacturing system.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a display unit is obtained by providing, toa panel 3, an optical film 2 with a release sheet 1 attached on onesurface using a roll, cutting the optical film 2 into a sizecorresponding to the panel 3, and laminating the optical film 2 on onesurface of the panel while removing the release sheet 1 attached to theoptical film 2, and subsequently, laminating the optical film 2 on theother surface of the panel 3 through the same process.

However, in the case of the process of manufacturing a display unitaccording to the related art, a process of reversing the panel 3 isneeded, hence efficiency of the process may reduce.

Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 3, in case in which the optical film 2 tobe attached to the panel 3 corresponds to a polarizing film, whenattaching a polarizing film onto both surfaces of the panel 3,polarizing films should be attached such that absorption axes areperpendicular to each other, and to do so, a process of rotating thepanel 3 is also needed.

To perform this additional process, addition of an apparatus forreversing/rotating the panel is required, and the addition of theapparatus results in an increased process line length, causing areduction in spatial efficiency.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

The present disclosure is designed to solve the above problem, andtherefore, the present disclosure is directed to increasing processefficiency in a process of attaching an optical film onto both surfacesof a panel.

However, the object of the present disclosure is not limited to theabove object, and other objects of the present disclosure will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from the following description.

Technical Solution

To achieve the above object, a system for laminating an optical filmaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includesa panel transfer unit to transfer a panel, a first laminating unitinstalled on a transfer line of the panel to laminate an optical film ona first surface of the panel along a first direction parallel to atransfer direction of the panel, and a second laminating unit installedon the transfer line of the panel to laminate an optical film full-cutinto a predetermined length on a second surface of the panel along adirection perpendicular to the first direction.

The panel transfer unit may include a conveyor belt to support andconvey the panel.

The panel transfer unit may include a transfer roller to support andconvey the panel.

The panel transfer unit may have a width corresponding to a width of thepanel.

The first laminating unit may include a first supply roll to supply theoptical film, and a laminating roll to laminate the supplied opticalfilm on the panel.

The first laminating unit may include a release sheet remover disposedbetween the first supply roll and the laminating roll to separate therelease sheet attached to the optical film.

The first laminating unit may include a collector roll to collect therelease sheet separated from the optical film.

The first laminating unit may include a first cutter disposed betweenthe first supply roll and the release sheet remover to half-cut theoptical film into a predetermined length.

The first laminating unit may include a first supply roll to supply theoptical film, and a laminating drum to laminate the supplied opticalfilm on the panel.

The second laminating unit may include a second supply roll to supplythe optical film along a direction perpendicular to the panel, adirection change roll to change a direction to allow the optical filmsupplied by the supply roll to move along a direction parallel to thepanel on the second surface of the panel, and a laminating drum disposedbetween the optical film and the second surface of the panel.

The second laminating unit may include a film holder disposed oppositeto the laminating drum across the optical film to hold the release sheetto allow the release sheet attached to the optical film to be separated.

The second laminating unit may include a second cutter disposed betweenthe second supply roll and the film holder to full-cut the optical filminto a predetermined length.

The laminating drum may separate and adsorb the optical film held by thefilm holder and may laminate the optical film on the second surface ofthe panel.

The laminating drum may have an adsorption hole formed on a periphery.

An adsorption pad may be attached onto the periphery of the laminatingdrum.

The second laminating unit may include a film cartridge to contain aplurality of full-cut optical films, a film holder to hold an opticalfilm transferred from the film cartridge, and a laminating drum toseparate and adsorb the optical film held by the film holder andlaminate the optical film on the second surface of the panel.

Meanwhile, the above object may be also achieved by a method formanufacturing a display unit according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure, and the method for manufacturing a display unitincludes (a) supplying a panel for manufacturing a display unit, (b)laminating an optical film on a first surface of the supplied panel, and(c) laminating an optical film full-cut into a predetermined length on asecond surface of the panel along a direction perpendicular to alaminating direction of the optical film on the first surface.

The step (c) may be performed simultaneously or sequentially with thestep (b).

The step (c) may include (c1) supplying the optical film along adirection perpendicular to the panel, (c2) changing a direction to allowthe supplied optical film to move along a direction parallel to thepanel, and (c3) laminating the optical film having a change in movementdirection on the panel.

The step (c3) may be performed using a laminating drum which separatesthe optical film from a release sheet and laminates the optical film onthe panel.

Advantageous Effects

According to the present disclosure, in a process of attaching anoptical film onto both surfaces of a panel, process efficiency may beincreased.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of thepresent disclosure and together with the foregoing disclosure, serve toprovide further understanding of the technical spirit of the presentdisclosure, and thus, the present disclosure is not construed as beinglimited to the drawing.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a system for laminating anoptical film according to a related art.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process according to a related artusing the system for laminating an optical film shown in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are diagrams illustrating a direction in which absorptionaxes of a pair of polarizing films each attached onto both sides of apanel shown in FIG. 1 are formed.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a system for laminating anoptical film according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a laminating direction of an opticalfilm by a first laminating unit and a second laminating unit shown inFIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of implementation of a firstlaminating unit shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of implementation of asecond laminating unit shown in FIG. 5, when viewed from A in FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of implementation of alaminating drum shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example of implementation of alaminating drum shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating implementation of a second laminatingunit of a different type from that of FIG. 8.

MODE FOR DISCLOSURE

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Priorto the description, it should be understood that the terms used in thespecification and the appended claims should not be construed as limitedto general and dictionary meanings, but interpreted based on themeanings and concepts corresponding to technical aspects of the presentdisclosure on the basis of the principle that the inventor is allowed todefine terms appropriately for the best explanation. Therefore, thedescription proposed herein is just a preferable example for the purposeof illustrations only, not intended to limit the scope of thedisclosure, so it should be understood that other equivalents andmodifications could be made thereto without departing from the spiritand scope of the disclosure.

First, an entire construction of a system for laminating an optical filmaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure isdescribed with reference to FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a system for laminating anoptical film according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5, the system for laminating an optical film accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes a paneltransfer unit 10, a first laminating unit 20, and a second laminatingunit 30.

The panel transfer unit 10 transfers, within the system, a panel P towhich an optical film F is to be attached, and has a width correspondingto a width of the panel P.

As a means for supporting and conveying the panel P, various transfermeans such as a conveyor belt or a transfer roller may be used.

The first laminating unit 20 and the second laminating unit 30 areinstalled on a transfer line of the panel P to laminate optical films F1an F2 on a first surface and an opposing second surface of the panel P,respectively.

Specific functions and construction of the first laminating unit 20 andthe second laminating unit 30 will be described below in more detailwith reference to FIGS. 6 through 10.

First, a laminating direction on the first surface of the panel P and alaminating direction on the second surface are described with referenceto FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a laminating direction of an opticalfilm by the first laminating unit and the second laminating unit shownin FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 6, the optical film F1 to be laminated on the firstsurface of the panel P and the optical film F2 to be laminated on thesecond surface are laminated along directions approximatelyperpendicular to each other.

That is, referring to FIGS. 5 and 6 together, the first laminating unit20 laminates the optical film F1 on the first surface of the panel Palong a direction parallel to a transfer direction of the panel P, whilethe second laminating unit 40 laminates the optical film F2 on thesecond surface of the panel P along a direction approximatelyperpendicular to the transfer direction of the panel P.

Different laminating directions of the optical films F1 and F2 on bothsurfaces of the panel P is because absorption axes M1 and M2 formed foreach of the optical films F1 and F2 should be perpendicular to eachother, particularly, in case in which the optical films F1 and F2attached onto both surfaces of the panel P are a polarizing film.

As described above, because the laminating directions of the opticalfilms F1 and F2 attached onto both surfaces of the panel P areperpendicular to each other, a length L of the film F1 to be laminatedon the first surface is equal to a width of the film F2 to be laminatedon the second surface, and a width W of the film F1 to be laminated onthe first surface is equal to a length of the film F2 to be laminated onthe second surface.

Subsequently, a structure of the first laminating unit 20 is describedin more detail with reference to FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of implementation of thefirst laminating unit shown in FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 7, the first laminating unit 20 may be implemented toinclude a first supply roll 21, on which the optical film F with therelease sheet S attached onto one surface is wound, to supply theoptical film F, and a pair of laminating rolls 22 to laminate theoptical film F separated from the release sheet S on the first surfaceof the panel P along the transfer direction of the panel P.

The laminating roll 22 may include a first roll disposed on the firstsurface of the panel P being transferred and a second roll disposed onthe second surface.

Also, the first laminating unit 20 may further include at least onetension roll 23 to maintain tension of the optical film F between thefirst supply roll 21 and the laminating roll 22.

Meanwhile, the first laminating unit 20 may include a release sheetremover 24 disposed between the first supply roll 21 and the laminatingroll 22 to separate, from the optical film F, the release sheet Sattached to the optical film F, and in this case, may further include acollector roll 25 to collect the separated release sheet S.

Additionally, the first laminating unit 20 may further include a firstcutter 26 disposed between the first supply roll 21 and the releasesheet remover to half-cut the optical film F into a predeterminedlength.

Here, half-cutting represents cutting only the optical film F whileleaving the release sheet S intact, when tailoring the optical film Fwith the attached release sheet S into a predetermined length.Half-cutting allows for continuous supply and laminating of the opticalfilm F using a roll.

Meanwhile, although FIG. 7 of the present disclosure only shows that theoptical film F is laminated on the panel P while passing through betweenthe pair of laminating rolls 22, the present disclosure is not limitedthereto.

That is, a method of laminating the optical film F on the first surfaceof the panel P is enough if continuous laminating is enabled by a rollto panel (RTP) technology, and thus, other laminating means such as, forexample, a laminating drum (see FIG. 8) may be used in place of thelaminating roll 22.

Subsequently, a structure of the second laminating unit 30 is describedin more detail with reference to FIGS. 8 through 10.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of implementation of thesecond laminating unit shown in FIG. 5, when viewed from A in FIG. 6,FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of implementation of alaminating drum shown in FIG. 8, and FIG. 10 is a diagram illustratinganother example of implementation of a laminating drum shown in FIG. 8.

First, referring to FIG. 8, the second laminating unit 30 may beimplemented to include a second supply roll 31, a direction change roll32, a laminating drum 33, a film holder 34, and a second cutter 35.

The second supply roll 31, on which the optical film F2 having therelease sheet S attached onto one surface is wound, supplies the opticalfilm F2 along a direction perpendicular to the panel P.

That is, the second supply roll 31 minimizes an area occupied byequipment by minimizing an overall width of the system for laminating anoptical film required for supply of the optical film F.

The laminating drum 33 is disposed between the optical film F movingalong a changed movement direction by the direction change roll 32, thatis, a direction parallel to the panel P and the second surface of thepanel P.

The laminating drum 33 has an approximately cylindrical shape, andseparates the optical film F from the release sheet S and laminates theoptical film F on the second surface of the panel P while moving betweenthe panel P and the optical film F.

Meanwhile, the laminating drum 33 may have various adsorption structuresfor attaching the optical film F on the periphery thereof, and anexample of the adsorption structure is illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10.

First, referring to FIG. 9, the laminating drum 33 may have a pluralityof adsorption holes H formed on the periphery. In this case, an innerspace of the laminating drum 33 may be connected to a vacuum pump (notshown), and as the vacuum pump operates, the optical film F may beadsorbed onto the periphery of the laminating drum 33.

Subsequently, referring to FIG. 10, an adsorption pad 33 a having aplurality of adsorption grooves G may be attached onto the periphery ofthe laminating drum 33.

As described above, with the surface structure capable of adsorbing theoptical film F, the laminating drum 33 adsorbs the optical film Fseparated from the release sheet S onto the periphery, and then movestoward the panel P and laminates the optical film F on the secondsurface of the panel P along the direction of the width W of the panelP.

In this instance, adhesion between the panel P and the optical film F isachieved by an adhesive layer formed on a surface where the releasesheet S has been attached among both surfaces of the optical film F.

The film holder 34 is disposed opposite to the laminating drum 33 acrossthe optical film F, and serves to hold the release sheet S to allow therelease sheet S attached to the optical film F to be separated.

The film holder 34 is not limited to a specific structure as long as ithas a structure capable of holding the release sheet S to allow therelease sheet S to be separated from the optical film F when thelaminating drum 33 adsorbs the optical film F and moves toward the panelP, and for example, the adsorption structure applied to the laminatingdrum 33 shown in FIG. 9 may be applied.

The second cutter 35 is disposed between the second supply roll 31 andthe film holder 34, and full-cuts the optical film F having the releasesheet S attached on one surface, so that the optical film F having apredetermined length may be attached/moved to/by the laminating drum 33individually and laminated on the panel P.

Here, full-cutting represents cutting all the optical film F and therelease sheet S attached onto one surface of the optical film F, asopposed to half-cutting representing cutting only the optical film Fwhile leaving the release sheet intact, and a cutting length of theoptical film F is determined based on the width W of the panel P.

Meanwhile, although not shown in FIG. 8 of the present disclosureexplicitly, the optical film F may be full-cut in advance beforearriving at the film holder 34 and then transferred to the film holder34 by a separate transfer machine.

When full-cutting is performed, a length of the optical film F may belimited to less than a predetermined level, so flatness maintenance ismade easy and consequently precision of an operation increases,resulting in an advantage of improved quality of attachment of theoptical film F.

Meanwhile, in the laminating of the optical film F on the second surfaceof the panel P, a roll type using the supply roll 31 for continuoussupply of the optical film F as described in the foregoing may beapplied, but as opposed to this, a chip type in which the optical film Ffull-cut to a size of the panel P in advance is transferred to thelaminating drum 33 using a separate transfer machine may be applied.

A detailed description of laminating in a chip type is provided withreference to a second laminating unit 40 shown in FIG. 11.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating implementation of a second laminatingunit of a different type from that of FIG. 8.

Referring to FIG. 11, the second laminating unit 40 includes a filmcartridge 36 to contain a plurality of optical films F as full-cut tothe size of the panel P in advance, instead of omitting the secondsupply roll 31, the direction change roll 32, and the second cutter 35,when compared to the second laminating unit 30 described in theforegoing.

Meanwhile, although not shown in the drawing explicitly, transfer of theoptical film F between the film cartridge 36 and the film holder 34 maybe made by a separate transfer device.

Furthermore, the supply of the optical film F by the full-cutting methodmay be applied when laminating the optical film F on the first surfaceof the panel P, and in this case, a roll type and a chip type may be allapplied as a transfer type of the optical film F.

Also, although the drawing (particularly, FIG. 6) of the presentdisclosure only shows that laminating on the first surface of the panelP (laminating along a direction parallel to the movement direction ofthe panel) and laminating on the second surface (laminating along adirection perpendicular to the movement direction of the panel) areperformed at different points in time and that laminating on the firstsurface is performed before laminating on the second surface, thepresent disclosure is not limited thereto.

That is, laminating on the first surface and laminating on the secondsurface may be simultaneously performed, and laminating on the secondsurface may be performed before laminating on the first surface.

As described above, in the manufacture of the display unit D bylaminating the optical film on both surfaces of the panel, the systemfor laminating an optical film according to the present disclosure isconstructed to allow the laminating direction on the first surface andthe laminating direction on the second surface to be performed alongdirections approximately perpendicular to each other. Therefore, inaccordance with the system for laminating an optical film according tothe present disclosure, a separate process of rotating and/or reversinga panel or an optical film is not required to allow absorption axes ofoptical films being attached to both surfaces to be perpendicular toeach other.

Also, due to being constructed to allow the optical film to be suppliedalong a direction perpendicular to the panel in performing thelaminating along a direction perpendicular to the movement direction ofthe panel, the system for laminating an optical film according to thepresent disclosure may maximize spatial efficiency by minimizing a widthoccupied by equipment.

Hereinabove, the present disclosure has been described in detail.However, it should be understood that the detailed description andspecific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of thedisclosure, are given by way of illustration only, since various changesand modifications within the spirit and scope of the disclosure willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from this detaileddescription.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for laminating an optical film,comprising: a panel transfer unit to transfer a panel along a straightline; a first laminating unit installed on a straight transfer line ofthe panel to laminate first optical film on a first surface of the panelalong a first direction parallel to a transfer direction of the panelalong the straight transfer line; and a second laminating unit installedon the straight transfer line of the panel to laminate second opticalfilm full-cut into a predetermined length on a second surface of thepanel along a second direction, which is perpendicular to the transferdirection of the panel along the straight transfer line and parallel toa surface of the panel, wherein the second laminating unit comprise: alaminating drum; a cutter; a second supply roll to supply a secondoptical film along a direction perpendicular to a surface of the panel;and a direction change roll to change a direction to allow the secondoptical film, which is supplied by the second supply roll, to move alongthe second direction with the second optical film facing the secondsurface of the panel.
 2. The system for laminating an optical filmaccording to claim 1, wherein the panel transfer unit includes aconveyor belt to support and convey the panel.
 3. The system forlaminating an optical film according to claim 1, wherein the paneltransfer unit includes a transfer roller to support and convey thepanel.
 4. The system for laminating an optical film according to claim1, wherein the panel transfer unit has a width corresponding to a widthof the panel.
 5. The system for laminating an optical film according toclaim 1, wherein the first laminating unit comprises: a first supplyroll to supply the first optical film; and a laminating roll to laminatethe supplied first optical film on the panel.
 6. The system forlaminating an optical film according to claim 5, wherein the firstlaminating unit comprises a release sheet remover disposed between thefirst supply roll and the laminating roll to separate a release sheetattached to the first optical film.
 7. The system for laminating anoptical film according to claim 6, wherein the first laminating unitcomprises a collector roll to collect the release sheet separated fromthe first optical film.
 8. The system for laminating an optical filmaccording to claim 6, wherein the first laminating unit comprises acutter disposed between the first supply roll and the release sheetremover to half-cut the first optical film into a predetermined length.9. The system for laminating an optical film according to claim 1,wherein the first laminating unit comprises: a first supply roll tosupply the first optical film; and a laminating drum to laminate thesupplied first optical film on the panel.
 10. The system for laminatingan optical film according to claim 1, wherein the laminating drum of thesecond laminating unit is disposed between the second optical filmfacing the second surface of the panel and the second surface of thepanel.
 11. The system for laminating an optical film according to claim10, wherein the second laminating unit comprises a film holder disposedopposite to the laminating drum across the second optical film to hold arelease sheet to allow the release sheet attached to the second opticalfilm to be separated.
 12. The system for laminating an optical filmaccording to claim 11, wherein the cutter of the second laminating unitis disposed between the second supply roll and the film holder tofull-cut the second optical film into a predetermined length.
 13. Thesystem for laminating an optical film according to claim 10, wherein thelaminating drum separates and adsorbs the second optical film held by afilm holder and laminates the second optical film on the second surfaceof the panel.
 14. The system for laminating an optical film according toclaim 10, wherein the laminating drum has an adsorption hole formed on aperiphery.
 15. The system for laminating an optical film according toclaim 10, wherein an adsorption pad is attached onto the periphery ofthe laminating drum.